Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake for John's Birthday

It's John's birthday again! Well, it's John's birthday on Thursday, the 12th. But I'm posting early. I like to stay ahead of him, keep him on his toes.

Some of you may wonder what we do to celebrate John's birthday. Well....that gets dicey. John hates his birthday!

Whaaaaaat? Yes, yes - it's true! I just don't understand this hatred. So, I like to go around him and plan things for him that he would ordinarily, left to his own devices, ignore, avoid and fear. I'm a good sister, yes?

Yes.

For his 29th birthday I planned a beer pong surprise party. Remember that part about being a good sister? I am one, clearly.

Last year, I respected his wishes and didn't throw a party, but I embarrassed him publicly on the blog, stating the various things that made him a great brother. You can read last year's testimonial here.

This year, I am taking him out to dinner. He hasn't decided where he wants to dine yet. But I would like to invite you all to post your birthday wishes on this blog. I'm going to pick a few random commenters and give out a prize.

While you're waiting for winners to be announced, you might want to make this cake. You can make it for someone's birthday, or you can invent a birthday, as the cake is that good, you might not want to wait for a special occasion. Marmo made this for Easter Sunday, and we all had to restrain ourselves from diving face-first into it.

This recipe is from Naples at Table by Arthur Schwartz.

What You Need:

Serves 12

12 oz of almonds finely ground

6 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons sugar

8 oz of bittersweet chocolate

2 sticks of butter

10 tablespoons sugar

¼ cup sugar

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter and flour a 10 inch springform pan. Line the bottom with wax paper or parchment paper. Butter and flour the lining.

In a food processor grind the almonds in 3 batches pulsing each with 2 T sugar for a total of 6 T of sugar. Set aside.

In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter together.

In a mixing bowl beat the egg yolks until lemon colored and then gradually beat in the 10 T sugar.

Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg yolks. Stir to mix and fold in the ground almonds and stir will.

In a clean bowl beat the egg whites with the ¼ c of sugar until they are stiff. The fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake on a cookie sheet for 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool for 15 minutes and remove the sides from the springform pan.

When the cake has cooked turn it upside down onto a serving plate and dust with confectioners sugar.